Palutena's Guidance

"What's the matter? All I said was that Komaytos look like little Metr-"

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Pit and Palutena discussing Zero Suit Samus's Jet Boots.

Palutena's Guidance is a series of easter egg conversations in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The conversations are triggered when Pit performs his down taunt on Palutena's Temple without being attacked for at least five seconds of the animation. The conversations feature Pit consulting Palutena regarding the fighter he is facing in a given match. Palutena's Guidance can only happen once per match. Some conversations from Wii U are reused in Ultimate, although a few have changed, such as Link.

They reference conversations between Pit and Palutena in Kid Icarus: Uprising, even reusing the same renders of the characters from that game. Viridi, another character from Uprising, joins them in some conversations, as do Dark Pit and Chrom in others. The discussions are light-hearted in nature, and often contain references to the character's respective franchises. Palutena's Guidance is triggered in the same fashion as the Codec Conversations had by Snake on Shadow Moses Island in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Metroid character conversations

Samus

Viridi: Oh, look. There's Metroid.

Pit: That's not a Metroid! That's Samus!

Palutena: Just like Link isn't named Zelda.

Viridi: And like Pit's name isn't Icarus!

Pit: OK, this joke has officially run its course.

Palutena: Moving on, then. Pit, you can reflect Samus's Charge Shot with your Guardian Orbitars. However, Samus can throw a storm of shots at you. If you use your Orbitars too often, she'll know what you're up to. So try to reflect strategically, as opposed to your...usual game plan.

This conversation references the misconception of some players new to Metroid that the name "Metroid" is shared with its protagonist. This confusion is shared with fans who interpret Link's name as Zelda since he is from The Legend of Zelda. Additionally, the Japanese version has Viridi comment on Pit's name not being Palutena per the franchise's name (パルテナの鏡, Mirror of Palutena).

Zero Suit Samus

Pit: Who's that woman?

Palutena: That's Zero Suit Samus. She usually wears heavy armor, but not in this incarnation. Even so, she's still pretty powerful.

Pit: She has some pretty hurty-looking equipment. Getting kicked by those Jet Boots has gotta sting!

Palutena: You have a good deal of "hurty-looking equipment" yourself, Pit.

Pit: Yeah, and can you believe that there are some fighters that battle empty handed? Crazy!

Palutena: It's all about discipline, not weaponry. Don't worry, though. When we get home, I'll enroll you in Palutena's Boot Camp. That'll fix you right up.

Pit: Or I can just keep my weapons. Yeah, let's do that.

Palutena: Anyway, Zero Suit Samus is a difficult target to hit. Keep your attack sure and ready.

Ridley

Pit: RIDLEY CONFIRMED!

Palutena: Uh, yes, that's Ridley. Samus's archnemesis.

Pit: I never thought I'd have to fight an alien space dragon in Smash...

Viridi: Kirby's a space alien too, ya know! Jury's still out on him being a dragon, though.

Palutena: Ridley may look like a mindless killing machine, but he's exceedingly intelligent. He's also the leader of the ruthless Space Pirates.

Pit: So what's the story behind him and Samus?

Palutena: Ridley killed Samus's parents when she was young.

Pit: That's messed up!

Palutena: Samus and Ridley first fought in the depths of Norfair on Planet Zebes. They crossed paths again when Ridley stole the Baby Metroid. Meta Ridley was made through genetic engineering and cybernetic enhancements. Omega Ridley is the one infused with Phazon... Neo-Ridley was born when an X parasite absorbed Ridley's genes. And yet another Ridley was created by cloning cells found on Samus's suit!

Pit: You sure know a lot about Ridley. And none of it is about how to fight him!

Viridi: There's also a robot version of Ridley. He built it himself which officially makes him a narcissist.

Pit: Is that canon?

Palutena: Canon or not, all of these Ridleys shared the same fate- they were all defeated by Samus.

Pit: Not surprising. Samus is a beast!

Palutena: So is Ridley. Mind the sharp barb on his tail.

Pit's "RIDLEY CONFIRMED!" comment references the enormous fan requests for Ridley's inclusion in Super Smash Bros. dating back to Melee. When Pit asks "Is that canon?", this may be a nod to Viridi's information only existing in supplemental materials for a remake; alternatively, Pit may be questioning Viridi's claim that Mecha Ridley proves that Ridley is "officially [...] a narcissist".

Dark Samus

Palutena: Is that Dark Samus?!

Pit: You know her?

Palutena: She's a being of pure Phazon created after Metroid Prime absorbed DNA from Samus's Phazon Suit.

Pit: No wonder she looks like Samus.

Viridi: Samus's suit and a Metroid combined? There's no way she isn't strong.

Palutena: Oh, she's strong all right. Along with ruthless and cunning.

Pit: Um, so what's a Phazum?

Palutena: It's Phazon. A blue radioactive substance that can produce massive amounts of energy. However, it can suddenly mutate and become invasive to mineral elements, making it incredibly dangerous.

Viridi: The monkeys never should have messed with the stuff, but they insisted and it blew up in their faces.

Palutena: Dark Samus was defeated, but the power of Phazon brought her back. A sentient Phazon being with free will. Between Dark Samus and Ridley, Samus has no shortage of archenemies.

Trivia

• Palutena's Guidance is not the first time that the Uprising cast has discussed the Metroid series. The first instance occurs in Uprising, in which Pit remarks that the Komaytos resemble Metroids, only for Viridi to quickly shut him down as "this game universe and THAT game universe have nothing to do with each other", with her humming to cut him off also being taken from the first four notes of the Item Acquisition Fanfare.
• Palutena's Guidance is the first instance where Neo-Ridley's name is mentioned in an official English source.
• In the English translation of Ultimate, Viridi does not refer to Mecha Ridley by name. However, she does so in other languages, including Japanese (メカリドリー) and German (Robo-Ridley).
• Proteus Ridley is the only incarnation of Ridley that is not mentioned in Palutena's Guidance.